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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2003)
Sports The Battalion Page IB • Thursday, February 6, 2003 Aggies upset No. 24-ranked Oklahoma team Win over Sooners ends five-game losing skid By Troy Miller THE BATTALION It was a night of milestones as the [exasA&M women’s basketball team [hocked the No. 24 Oklahoma Sooners |>9-61 in front of 1,593 at Reed Arena. Just 1:27 into the game, junior foccara Williams rewrote the Aggie lecord books as she overtook Lisa pnch as the career leader in steals Wh 310. Williams finished the night jvith five steals, which equals her Jiation-leading average. “I’ve tried to put the record as far ehind me as possible," Williams said. It’s great though, (Branch) is a great llayerand 1 have much respect for her. [Defense) is my main focus. I’m all [bout defense." Junior Lynn Classen also had a emorable night as she scored a career 23 points to lead the Aggies to |ictory. Classen also added five ounds and four blocks, one less than [ercareer high. “We were trying to get the ball Inside because they couldn't defend Inside,'’ said Aggie Head Coach Peggie pilloni. “Lynn was on tonight so she wanted the basketball.” The Sooners never could accoma- date for Classen in the low post. She shot 57.1-percent from the field on the night as she scored at will over Oklahoma senior center Theresa Schuknecht. Classen also went seven of 11 from the free throw line. “We came in with a lot of motiva tion,” Classen said. “Oklahoma was talking like they would never lose to a team like Texas A&M so that fired me up. You don’t talk disrespect like that.” This Texas A&M win avenges a 77- 39 loss Oklahoma handed the Aggies in Norman earlier this season. Oklahoma opened the scoring with a bucket 52 seconds into the game by sophomore Dionnah Jackson. The 2-0 lead was the largest lead for the Sooners all night. Jackson, Oklahoma’s second lead ing scorer, got into early foul trouble and was a non-factor as she played only 26 minutes compared to her aver age of 33.2. “We’re so thin already,” said Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale. “Dionnah is the only one on the floor that even resembles a leader and to lose her for the majority of the game is tough.” The Aggies jumped out to a 25-17 lead with 7:41 left in the first half behind eight early points from Classen. Oklahoma fought back to tie the game at 36 at halftime. The second half stayed tight as nei ther team took more than a five point lead for the first 18 minutes. With 1:51 left to play, the Aggies seemed destined for a victory. Junior forward Janae Derrick was double-teamed behind the three-point line with time ticking down on the shot clock. After seeing that only one sec ond remained by looking at the clock at the opposite end of the court. Derrick threw a three-point shot over her shoul der in what resembled a hook shot. The ball fell in the basket and the Aggies took a 62-58 lead. “All I could say was thank you,” said Aggie head coach Peggie Gillom. “I don’t know what it was, but it was a good shot.” The three by Derrick sparked an 11-3 run to close out the game and the Aggie victory. It was the first Texas A&M victory over Oklahoma since the Aggies beat the Sooners 91-83 on January 21, 1998 in G. Rollie White Coliseum. •THE ALISSA HOLI.IMON Aggie guard Sabrina Mitchell drives past Oklahoma defenders in Wednesday BATTALION s game. &M softball team pummels UTSA By Jeff Allen THE BATTALION ALISSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION Outfielder Sherah Atkins hits a homerun in Wednesday's game. The No. 24 Texas A&M softball team’s bats finally came out of hid ing last night at the Aggie Softball Complex in a 9-1 win over the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Aggies sent four long balls spread amongst eleven base hits sailing over the left field wall en route to their third straight win to start off the young season. The offensive explosion for the Aggies was exactly what Head Coach Jo Evans was looking for after sweating out two close games earlier in the week. “We hit the ball real well,” Evans said. “I was pleased with (the performance) and that just- about everybody had a good at-bat and several had several good at-bats. I thought we were patient (today). Yesterday we were pretty excited and were a little impatient.” It took a no-hitter to get the Aggies to the win column Tuesday. Wednesday, Aggie junior starter Lindsay Wilhelmson had a bit more room to work with. A&M grabbed the early lead, capitalizing on two errors by the Roadrunners in the first inning, capped off by a two-out single by senior Selena Collins. The timely hit by Collins set the tone for the night as the Aggies went on to plate runs five times with two outs in an inning. Senior shortstop Crystal Martin took control at the plate for the sec ond night in a row. Fresh off late inning heroics less than a day before, Martin stroked a two-out double into the gap in left field plating what would prove to be the winning run in the game. The hit was followed by another double, sailing over the Roadrunner short stop off the bat of sophomore left- fielder Jana James. With the early lead in hand, Wilhelmson was able to settle down and preserve the Aggie lead with little drama. Despite not having her best stuff, the Aggie starter earned Aggie swimmers play host to SMU By Marcus White THE BATTALION See Softball on page 3B en’s tennis team visits Sunshine State By Jeff Allen THE BATTALION The No. 12 Texas A&M men’s tennis team has reached a crucial point in its young sea son. After a promising opening day, easily sweeping a triple- header, the men have come up against much harder times. After suffering their first loss of the season to No. 11 Texas last weekend, the Aggies are now faced with a daunting road trip to the Sunshine State, where two major challenges await them. A&M will have to face the No.5 team in the nation, Florida, and then on Sunday visit another solid underrated team, the University of Miami. The challenges are not com ing at the most opportune time for the young Aggie team. Recently a big question mark has raised the Aggies’ ability to put away the crucial doubles point by winning two out of three of the matches. Last week, weakness factored in to the Aggies’ first loss of the year, and it could prove to be even more crucial as they head to Gainesville to face a strong Gator squad, which will be look ing to redeem itself after being swept 7-0 by No. 2 Illinois. “I really thought we played pretty good at the one and two (doubles teams),” said Head Coach Tim Cass. “But at three we didn’t play very well. We’re going to have to figure out com binations and experiment some this month to see what’s the best way to get the doubles point.” In recent years, the Aggies have had a good deal of success against their coming opponents, having swept the past three years against Florida and win ning at least five in a row over Miami including a 4-1 win last year at home in College Station. Last year against Florida makes the Aggies’ weakness in the dou bles competition all the more glaring as the match was decided by the single tie-breaking dou bles point, which the Aggies earned by sweeping the Gators in the three doubles matches. The situation will become even more crucial as the Aggies head deeper into their schedule, one which doesn’t show much hope of getting any easier any time soon. The importance of the tie-breaking point will become even more glaring if the Aggies hope to stay in the national tennis scene, and defend the position they have earned in the past few years. This weekend’s actions will not only push the Aggies’ dou bles play with trial by fire, but it will test the entire team. Last week, the team expressed con cerns about its level of play in the match against Texas, things that Cass and the Aggie team will be looking to address, first in the match against Florida and then Miami. “We look at Florida and Texas basically the same. There are things that we didn’t do well enough to win the match at Texas,” Cass said. The Aggies are hoping to step up and do the things against Florida that they were unable to do against Texas and to earn their spot in the nation’s Top 20. “We hope to win them both (Florida and Miami),” said Cass. “Our expectations are to go out there and earn our spot and get our own identity. Right now our identity is in the past, the reason we are ranked No. 12 is based on what we did in the past, and this team is going to have to earn whatev er they are capable of earning.” The Aggies are hoping to learn what they are capable of this weekend. They will be tak ing on the Gators Friday in Gainesville Fla. and then mov ing on to Miami to take on the Hurricanes on Sunday. The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team will host Southern Methodist University in its last home meet of the season Thursday at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium. The dual meet will be the Aggies’ last before head ing to the Big 12 Championship in Austin, Texas. In its last outing, A&M (3-2) defeated Louisiana State University, 186-104, taking 12 of the 14 pool events on its way to the largest margin of victory ever between the two teams. The performance propelled the team up five spots to No. 16 in the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) dual meet poll. SMU (5-3) is coming off the Texas Quad Meet, where it faced some of the top teams in the country. The Mustangs lost to No. 5 Texas and No. 13 Arizona State, but defeated the No. 15 University of Arizona Wildcats. SMU Head Coach Eddie Sinnott called the meet good practice for the team. “Anytime you beat a nation ally ranked opponent, it’s good for the team and the university,” Sinnott said. A&M and SMU account for one of swimming and div ing’s best rivalries, with A&M taking 19 of the 57 contests between the two teams. Last season the Aggies and Mustangs faced off in Dallas at Perkins Natatorium. The Aggies placed first in the competition’s final relay race to narrowly win the meet 122-119, capturing A&M’s first away victory in the rivalry’s history. “There’s a lot of great his tory between these two teams,” said A&M Head Coach Mel Nash. “That was the first victo ry we had at SMU’s pool since the 1940s when the rivalry began. They should be coming back down here this year with a lot of intensity.” The meet should produce some great match-ups as both teams are near championship form. Nash looks forward to a possible showdown in the 50- meter freestyle between A&M’s Matt Rose and SMU’s Jonathon Newton, two of the NCAA’s premiere sprinters. Newton, a junior transfer, posted a 20.06 in the 50-meter freestyle at the Texas Quad Meet, taking first place in that event for the Mustangs. The former Big 12 swimmer will use Thursday’s meet to prepare himself for the NCAA Championship, Sinnott said. “(Newton) transferred here from ISU, so there are some lin gering Big 12 rivalries,” Sinnott said. “(Newton) is going to go out there and try to break 20 seconds. Hopefully, the compe tition can help him do that.” Rose, A&M’s junior All- American, posted a season-best 20.19 in the 50-meter freestyle against LSU. Nash knows the last dual meet of the season is critical to the team’s success and is eager to see a possible Rose and Newton face-off. “When Rose and Newton go at each other, it’s definitely fun to watch,” Nash said. “Coach Sinnott and I both enjoy watch ing what it brings out in them.” Both teams will use the meet to fine tune before the end-of- season championships. “You use the competition in the pool to get you where you want to go,” Sinnott said. “At the end of the day, the only question that matters is ‘did we help ourselves for the championship (meets)?”’ Nash agrees with Sinnott. “By the end of the season, it’s about the meet,” Nash said. “But it’s also about being pre- pared mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s about being ready to race.” The Aggies and Mustangs square off Thursday at the Student Rec Center Natatorium at 6:30 p.m. AqqieAthleticsJcom]
